Nearly half a million residents of coastal Florida were advised to evacuate their homes today as Hurricane Frances continued to close in on the already weather-battered Southeast, where more than 30 people died in storms last month. It would be the worst double hurricane strike on one state in at least a century.

Tropical Storm Bonnie formed Monday afternoon over the southern Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to head for the U.S. Gulf Coast. Earlier Monday a tropical depression formed over the southeastern Caribbean Sea and it could grow into Tropical Storm Charlie by Tuesday.